Today’s post-recession economic landscape is a new reality on many fronts, yet one factor remains: businesses that win the race for talent flourish, with one critical difference. Studies show that women in management and on boards are the breakthrough innovation in companies that excel. Fresh thinking happens when women play a meaningful part in creating solutions and leading efforts. Bottom line results across industry sectors prove that women’s full leadership engagement is an imperative for business prosperity and positive change.

So how is your company attracting the best female talent and cultivating women to succeed? It starts with having a great pool of talent for all aspects of business - and that starts by increasing the number of girls and women who aspire to business leadership. But current research shows that continued gender stereotyping in the media and popular culture often confines women and men into traditional work roles, limiting thought diversity, insights, aspiration and innovation. What are business and the media doing to inspire females to reach for substantive careers and to be successful? Typically females are poorly represented in the number of women executives in business, as well as in the kinds of female characters and images modeled in advertising, film, television and other forms of media. Changing cultural perceptions of female worth and roles is necessary to bolster the number of women who lead.

The Womenetics second annual Global Women’s Initiative will focus attention on Effective Leadership for the 21st Century Economy: Popular Culture and Positive Role Models for Women and Girls, and will seek to counter stereotypes and advance gender equality in the workplace. Diverse thought leaders from business and popular culture will discuss how to foster a social environment that celebrates women’s intellectual talents and inspires girls to succeed – and that keeps US businesses competitive. At the 2012 Global Women’s Initiative we’ll examine best practices in the global economy and look at steps needed to provide more positive female role models and realistic portrayals of women. Join us to explore ideas that will create positive change for women – and men - in the workplace and cultivate the next generation of innovative and successful business leaders.

Keynote Speaker: Abigail Disney - Through her work as a filmmaker and philanthropist, Disney has inspired and empowered women on a global level. Her documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell and the PBS series, Women, War & Peace, examine women's positions in politics, violent conflicts and peacemaking. Disney played an instrumental role in the preservation of the groundbreaking Ms. Magazine when in conjunction with a group of dedicated investors, she formed Liberty Media for Women to ensure the publication of the magazine’s pioneering point of view for years to come. Disney contributes to numerous organizations concerned with poverty, women's rights and education and currently serves on the boards of the Roy Disney Family Foundation, the White House Project, the Global Fund for Women and the Fund for the City of New York.

Featured Presentation: Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D – Highly regarded writer and filmmaker, Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work on the image of women in advertising and for her critical studies of alcohol and tobacco advertising. In the late 1960s she began her exploration of the connection between advertising and several public health issues, including violence against women, eating disorders and addiction, and she launched a movement to promote media literacy as a way to prevent these problems. She is the creator of the renowned Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women film series and the author of the award-winning book, Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel and So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids (with Diane E. Levin). She was recently honored as one of the 2012 Common Sense Media Award recipients for her pioneering work advocating for more positive portrayals of women and girls in media.

Panelist: Maria Wynne – As CEO for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, Wynne oversees the largest Girl Scout council in the world, bringing leadership development opportunities to nearly 87,000 girls ages 5 to 17 and 24,000 volunteers across six Illinois counties and four Indiana counties. Wynne is focused on raising awareness of the need to invest in the next generation of girls and creating an experiential environment that prepares girls and young women to become well-equipped global citizens and leaders of the 21st century. Appointed in October 2008, Wynne's restructuring of the organization has resulted in its current positive financial position and upward trends in innovation, support and membership. Wynne was named Chicago Executive of the Year 2011 by the Public Relations Society of America and as one of the “100 Women Making a Difference” by Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine in July 2011.

Panelist: Julia Cloud - Cloud is a national managing partner for the private company services practice of Deloitte Tax LLP. Cloud has consistently elevated the careers of women at Deloitte, culminating in her current role as the managing partner for Deloitte’s Women’s Initiative. From 2005 to 2008, Cloud led the company’s Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women, where she created programs dedicated to mentoring, career development and career path flexibility for approximately 3,000 women within the tax practice. Additionally, as national service line leader, Cloud oversees approximately 600 professionals in the private company services group who provide advice in the many facets of wealth accumulation and protection, including tax, estate, gift, trust and charitable planning.


Panelist: Jennifer Fortner - Fortner is a private wealth advisor in the Investment Management Division (IMD) of Goldman Sachs in Chicago. Firmly dedicated to the advancement of women at Goldman Sachs, Fortner serves as the co-head and founder of the Chicago Women's Network, co-captain of the Client Outreach Committee for the Firmwide Women’s Network (Americas) and as a member of the Operating Committee for the IMD Women’s Network. She contributes to the world of higher education as the divisional recruiting team captain for the Chicago Booth School of Business and by serving on the University of Chicago Women's Board. In 2008, Fortner was awarded the Highest Leaf Award for leadership and entrepreneurship from the Women’s Venture Fund. She joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 as a financial analyst and was named managing director in 2011. She works with high net worth families, privately held business owners and foundations, advising on asset allocation and portfolio strategy.

Moderator: Danita Knight – Knight, a public relations and fundraising consultant in the Atlanta area, is the former vice president for public affairs and community relations to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Knight's public relations experience is extensive, spanning nonprofit and government sectors. Prior to joining the NCAA, Knight was the director of public relations for Anthem, a parent company for Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans. She held positions of similar scope for the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and various departments in Kentucky and Iowa state governments. Knight also served as speech writer, scheduler and public relations director to Iowa's first female lieutenant governor, Jo Ann Zimmerman. Knight is well known in philanthropic circles, especially for her successful fundraising with the Atlanta Women's Foundation, of which she is currently chairwoman.